All About Mercy... or really, All About a MercyHouse Home Party & the Fair Trade Friday Club (PLUS a GIVEAWAY!)

I told you last week that I was doing this super cool, ultra fun new thing and as with all super cool, ultra fun new things - I think you should all do it now, too! (Because, of course!)

But also because this: It's also super ultra easy!
Seriously... the folks at Mercy House make it SO EASY for the hosts. 
Plus - hello gorgeous products, 
In. My. House.

I fell in love with MercyHouse in Kenya several years ago.  I have written about this powerful ministry here before.  Kristen Welch said yes to God and oh my what He has done since then!  In the past few years, we have purchased items from the website and have helped to raise funds for things like a new van, computers/classrooms, and a second home! 

About a year ago, Kristen said another yes to God and started Fair Trade Friday. 

“I heard it clear, these words in the middle of the night, “Provide jobs for women.” It was years ago and I didn’t know what it meant. We were a couple of years into our hard work in Kenya, rescuing pregnant teens and I didn’t think I could do much more. But I also couldn’t shake those whispered words. Fair Trade Friday is the response to providing jobs for women. Sometimes God asks us to do something we don’t know how to do. But He does and He leads.”                        ~Kristen Welch, Founder of MercyHouse and Fair Trade Friday

One of the things I love the most about the products is that they come with the name of the woman who created it attached.  So now, whenever I wear my necklace, I pray for Violet. When I wear my bracelet, I pray for Rose. When I wear my earrings, I pray for Pauline. I love that personal connection and the opportunity to not only pray, but in purchasing the items, I know that the money is going right back into their hands, helping them to provide for their families, to buy food, pay rent, go to school.

Rhinestone Jesus - A Book Review & (another) Giveaway!

When I first heard that Kristen Welch was writing a book, I was in.  I really didn't know much about her, but my heart was already All In because I fell in love with the Mercy House a year or so ago. While we're not friends 'inrl' - I have prayed for her, and this ministry, and have popped over to her little corner of the Interwebs at We Are THAT Family often, so hearing that Rhinestone Jesus was coming soon stirred me up something fierce.  

I appreciate Kristen and her honesty... her realness and her ability to say it like it is.  I know, this 'gift' usually comes hard fought and battle worn and this book? This is the story of the power of saying Yes to God - not when you have your life figured out and all your ducks in a row, but right in the middle of your Mess. As the tagline suggests, it's a book about waking up, about taking a risk and saying yes to God, 'when sparkly, safe faith is no longer enough.'  (I know... you want it already, right?)

 So - this little book and I have been having coffee dates with White Chocolate Raspberry mocha's and a coral pen in hand... We have curled up on the couch together and laid down in bed to read.  When my husband said something like, "Is that another book?" my response was a nearly whispered, "Yes, but this one may send us to Africa!"

Ya'll... you don't even know.  Well - maybe you do.  But go to Africa? No... that was what, as a new Christian, I feared He would call me to do. However in the last couple of years, between bloggers and books and God simply stirring my heart and waking me up... my No is less emphatic. So... that's a start, yes?  But, here's the thing - at the heart of this book, of her heart for this book - is the assurance that we all have our own "Sweet Spot"... our own "one thing" and yours (and mine) may not be Kenya, most likely it may just be around the corner of where you live. But we are all invited in to say Yes... to do both small and big things, starting right where we are!

Kristen writes about real life... about how she set out to change the world and then life happened, and it drained, and it left her a little disillusioned.  She is achingly honest about marriage and parenting and how God redeemed and healed and began stirring her up towards being authentic and real and saying, as she puts it, #YesinmyMess.  All of that back story sets the stage for the miracle of Mercy House.

Mercy House captured my heart long ago, around the same time I was leaning in to the reality that as a Mama to an Only, my mothering years were coming to a close. (Ha... I know.  Well, I know now!)  So last year, I was honored to join in with a group of bloggers to help raise funds for The Mercy House.  Maureen, and Kristen and her family, and these teen girls and their babies and the real need pulled at my Mama heartstrings and I couldn't not do something... some small thing... to join in and make a difference; to make a dent.  So I took my small Yes and joined it with many others and all of our offerings added up fast!  In the book Kristen writes, "We are ordinary.  God is anything but."  A group of ordinary strangers bonded together with a God Who is anything but and we watched Him bring each Phase to a close, early, fully-funded!  "Fully Funded" became my new favorite phrase and with the release of Rhinestone Jesus officially set for tomorrow, in His divine timing, on the same day a reality of 'fully funded' is getting the keys to the second home purchased for The Mercy House so we can reach more girls... change more lives... one (or two) at a time!

I loved this book and highly recommend it! Some of the proceeds from Rhinestone Jesus will go to The Mercy House, and as much as I love that ministry, I love the message within this book: That you can change the world!  That your Yes matters.  That God has a plan and a purpose and when you step in and step up and find your 'one thing', your 'sweet spot' - God partners with you and takes your ordinary, and makes it Extraordinary!

I love how Kristen honors marriage and parenting and knows that those are priorities... how she encourages family prayer and devotion time while keeping it real and actually doable, how she encourages us to write out a family mission statement, serve together, and find out what our own sweet spot is!  This book will stir you up and give you courage to say Yes in the middle of your Mess... knowing that God works with us and through us; in us and for us.

One of my favorite quotes from the book, talking about your Sweet Spot, is:

"Your sweet spot isn't some elusive mystery that God dangles over your head just beyond your grasp. It's the collision of believing in who you are and acting on it because of whom you belong to."

She goes on to say:

"I believe we are all called to do something, just not everything.  Focusing on our one thing and doing it well to His glory is both liberating and life changing."

 At the end of each chapter, Kristen offers sections titled "Unpinned Faith" where she encourages some deeper reflections.  Digging deeper, along with reading her own story, just may show you what your one thing is and give you the boldness to say Yes to changing the world!

Rhinestone Jesus is available May 1st at these locations:

AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
DAYSPRING
CBD



Tyndale has been kind enough to provide two books for me to Giveaway! I hosted a Giveaway last week (congrats to Kim from One Rebel Heart!) but I wanted to save one for this post, after I'd actually - you know - read the whole book!  I finished it this morning and I want ALL of my friends and readers to get their hearts and hands around this book -around this message!

So - if you would like to win the second copy provided by Tyndale, Comment Below and let me know WHAT HAVE YOU SAID YES TO recently, or - if you know - I'd love to hear WHAT YOUR SWEET SPOT, YOUR 'ONE THNG' IS?

(The Winner will be picked on Monday, May 5th!)

Linking up with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

and of course, with Kristen Welch for #RhinestoneJesus

Sneaky Love Idols, Saying Yes in your Mess & #inrl

I was doing great... well, at least fine. I was doing fine - but not in that snippy-response,-push-all.-the.-feelings.-under-the-carpet kind of fine.  Fine - as in, honestly - I was feeing like I was doing fine...

I had thought about writing a follow up post on how laying down my #LoveIdol went for Lent... on how I was feeling like I was walking taller and stooping down to Self-Doubt and Hesitation way less often.  I have no plans of propping those idols back up.  I walked in such freedom and in a fuller sense of feeling like I really am enough, simply because I am His. I don't know that I can, in all honesty, say that I am free all day, every day.  But I am walking in freedom and on most days since the beginning of this challenge through Lent, I battle less, and win more. So, you see? I was fine... better than fine really... until, all of the sudden, I wasn't so much.

Oh how those little idols can crawl back up so sneaky like and if we are not careful, they can just make themselves right at home again.  As previously stated... I was fine!

During Lent, as I was learning to live without hestitation... to say Yes more quickly and wholeheartedly... as I was standing tall in God-confidence, I was also gaining weight, detoxing (which made me look like the classic preteen 'before' picture in an acne commercial), and trying to plan another gathering in my home with little to no RSVPs coming in. I felt a little spacey that I was really feeling great, despite my circumstances... then our budget was stretched even further, and someone stole our identity... and... well, you get it.

It was a lot at once and I was super busy... (my first clue!) Instead of giving myself a little slack and some room to breathe, I was adding things to Bossy Lists and entertaining self talk that was less than positive (my second clue!) and then swung over into being all justify-y about everything.

In the midst of being over busy, over tired, and over budget, I began an old familiar rant conversation with God that started out something like, "You are the One who asked me to do this... I am doing this and trying to trust that You are gonna make something beautiful out of my mess.  You know how much I have on my plate (as if it's His fault...or even His idea!) and you know my heart here..."  This quickly shifted into the beginnings of a pity party ("I know you have called me to create community but... it is never easy... no one will come... I just can't ever do it right/good enough...") and once I recognized the whine in my own voice, I had one of those glorious Snap Out of It moments. 

Whew... that was close! 

You see, what was happening was that I was whining myself right back in to Self Doubt and Hesitation... The Maybe's began to enter in to my thoughts... Maybe I'm not supposed to be doing this.  Maybe I just decided it on my own.  Maybe He really didn't ask me to step out like this.  Maybe no one will show up.  Maybe too many will show up.  Maybe I should stop trying to (fill in the blank here, you get the idea!)

All those Maybe's are dangerous.  But when I remember... when I remind myself again and again - that I am Preapproved, that I am enough, because He is enough, then all my Maybe's change.  He swoops in and shifts my mindset back to all the possibilities of Maybe.  

Maybe I'm AM supposed to be doing this and this resistence is just confirmation.  Maybe He really did ask me and equip me and give me ideas to step out like this and make it special. Maybe whenever I say Yes, He shows up... Maybe if I feel called to bless and love and connect, it's just a hint at how much He wants to bless and love and connect.  Maybe only a few will show up - but He will be among us.  Maybe too many will show up - and He will be among us... either way, He will be here and too many or too few doorprizes... I really don't think... well - Maybe that is so not the point of it all anyway!  

It's not coincidence that I am reading "Rhinestone Jesus" by Kristen Welch right now... the hashtag that is riding along with this new release is #YesinmyMess and the tagline to the book is "Saying Yes To God when sparkly, safe faith is no longer enough."  Yeah.  That.

So - I escaped for an overnight getaway with a few girlfriends.  Sometimes you just gotta know when to get away... go for a drive... get out of town if possible, laugh with friends.  We all had been bowing down, looking for approval, searching for answers that we already knew.  Him... He is always our answer and strong tower.  

My Honey, who is amazing, said Yes (in my mess! Ya see what I did there?) and he said "Go!"... so I did. (Real quick like!)

And now, with a little rest, my even more so overstretched budget, and my bended knees, I am finishing up the touches to the (in)RL Meet up on Saturday.  I have talked myself down from the Freak Out ledge and managed to not give in or make room for Self Doubt or Hesitation to get all cozy and comfy.  Anyone is welcome on Saturday and only God knows who He will bring to my doorstep, but I know that those old love idols will not be hiding in the house, messing up my hostess mojo.

I am Preapproved. I am saying Yes in the middle of my Mess because while I AM Enough, a safe, quiet, risk-free closed door faith just doesn't cut it... and me? Well - I was made to create Community... to Speak Life... to Be Love... to Shine On!

I am honored to be a part of Kristen's Book Launch Team and Tyndale has been gracious enough to give me TWO books to Giveaway to two lucky readers.  I am not finished yet, so I am saving one book to giveaway next week on the Official Launch date, when I write out my book review (hint - I love it already and I am only a few chapters in!) but today - in honor of pressing through, of laying down again those love idols, and saying #YesinmyMess, I am hosting a Giveaway for ONE COPY of Rhinestone Jesus... just enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you are not familiar with (in)RL it is the Women's Conference that comes to you!  It is free, and it is happening online on Friday night, and all around the world in living rooms and churches and coffee shops on Saturday! For more info or to register, click HERE. 




I'm linking up with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

...with Kristen Welch over at We Are That Family, promoting #RhinestoneJesus

and with Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

How have you said Yes in your Mess recently? I'd love to hear!

The Power of Testimony... like His Train Filling the Temple

I am waiting... waiting... waiting still.  I can't wait to wrap my hands and heart around this new book by Kristen Welch and even as I wait, I know... I know "Rhinestone Jesus" will spur us forward into whatever it is that is 'next' and we will once again find ourselves saying "Yes and Amen" ...saying "Yes, I will go" ...bending low and laying it all out for Him to see, to shape and mold, to mend and break all over again.

We don't like that, do we? The breaking?  The mess?  The less than perfect, can't catch up, not knowing chaos of feeling like He is calling us to be real... not later, but right where we are, at right this moment?  

No. I can say I'm good with you seeing the real me, but if the doorbell rings too early - I panic real quick-like and try to decide what is most urgent - my house or me! I love a drop in - but call first, ya'll! (Does that even make it a drop in anymore? Probably not!) I love impromptu visits, and try to keep all my Bossy Lists of Things To Do loose enough that I can shift my day around because honestly - in all the coffee and connecting, what I love the most is when we move from small talk, and beyond the prayer request/what's going wrong mode, right in to the praise reports/look what God is doing mode!  

Yeah... that one! That one is my jam! (My girlie is begging me to stop saying that... but I like to think I am cool like Jen Hatmaker, soooo....)

I know my pentecostal roots are showing here, but I love me some testimony time!  We love to hear OTHER people's testimonies of how God showed up in their mess and came through and stretched them out and showed up big. We want all of that in our own lives too - but maybe without the mess, without the stretching and the desperate neediness. Yeah - we want God - but who wants to be broken and begging for mercy?  We want the High... but not the Low. We want the Testimony, but not the Test.

Here is the thing that we forget in the midst of a battle:
We serve the king of Kings and lord of Lords and He is Victorious... and really, that is all we need to know!  

He wins. 

Hands down... in the end, He wins - and we are on His side!  

One of my favorite visuals from Scripture when it comes to our King who wears the Victor's Crown is found in the Book of Isaiah...

"In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple."  Isaiah 6:1 NASB

Oh my stars - how I LOVE that verse! Isaiah LOVED his king and he was in deep mourning and despair over such a loss... and all of a sudden, he is reminded of the One True King.  He has a vision and THAT King?  Well, that King (Jesus) - His train FILLED the temple!  

In those times, whenever an army would overtake a region (kingdom) - they would take the defeated king's robe off of him, and they would then sew it onto the hem of their victorious kings' garment.  So - the longer the train, the more victorious the king.

Our God? Yeah - hands down... His train is longest... it FILLS the temple. 

Every victory He paid for... every testimony you have, it is sewn on to His train... it brings Honor and Glory to His name.

So I am coming to realize that the saying is true: To have a testimony, there will first be a test.  

But there is also this:

"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." Rev 12:11 NASB

Can I encourage you today to say Yes in your Mess... to begin to testify - even before the answer has come; even if it still looks dark, like on Good Friday, when it's all black and stormy, all broken and bleeding... for we know... we know that Sunday is coming, right? He wins!  

Let's pull a Mark 11 right in the middle of our messes and remind ourselves that our King? His train fills the temple!

Now... who wants to testify?

Linking up with Kristen Welch for the Launch
of her new book Rhinestone Jesus  - Saying Yes to God when sparkly, safe faith is no longer enough. 
You can preorder it now over at Amazon, 
and join with us as we say #Yesinmymess





I'm also linking up with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

and with Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

(Seriously - ya'll... who has a testimony?
Big or Small...
Let's praise Him together
in the comments below!) 

Count it all Joy... a Five Minute Friday post

When you wake up on a Tuesday morning, feeling like you need to write a post about your OneWord (Vision) and then you open your eyes and you just Can. Not. See... yeah. That.

That post will wait... (but not for long!)

I am limiting my screen time, hoping and praying that these floaters will go away.  Having been born with cataracts and having had eye surgeries as a teenager, I am rather used to being somewhat blind -but floaters? Really? I rarely battle those and it is hard to focus beyond them when they are centered straight ahead and you are staring at a blank screen, waiting for art to happen! So - that said, I have not spend as much time online this week... which is best, because I have been up to my, well, eyeballs in Baby Shower cuteness - quickly throwing together a somewhat impromptu celebration for out of town relatives!

Oh but - first - the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - The Word Prompt is: JOY

{GO}

So I am a fan of seeing stuff... well, of seeing - ya know, just in general!  I like to think I do not take sight for granted because - well, I was slowly losing it in my younger years.  I remember vividly walking around in AWE after my first surgery! Who knew grass was not just green - but there was texture and actual individual blades? Who knew about sidewalks with actual rocks smashed in there or trees with bark that was so beautiful... yeah - when you can't actually see... and then you can... chances are great you will count it ALL Joy! 

So waking up this week and having my vision impaired... well, when is it really a good time for that?

But as far as busy weeks and bossy lists, this was right up there!  I am throwing a Baby Shower for my niece on Saturday, but we weren't sure if she was actually going to be able to make it to town... so no plans were made. My family - they know how I am and I find JOY in party planning, but there were no guest lists, no party favors, no themes picked out... we were on hold, and then suddenly - we were not!

I am a Pinterest girl and I love me a theme party, but I had to quickly give way (and close. that. tab.) and focus beyond hte floaters in my eyes to see reality loud and clear.  

Keep it Simple.

OK. I can do that. But I also want to Make it Special!

So, I let my budget and what was available at the local store down the road dictate my theme and decor and I am limiting the games (can someone else say Praise the Lord? Am I the only one who is not a super fan of Shower Games?) I am praying that beyond the blessing of gathering with friends and family and - of course, getting all the loot! - I'm praying that she will feel the Love! 

I remember back to my own Shower days... the best thing about them was not so much the clothes and diapers and toys, or even seeing friends, it was the vote of confidence that I could do this thing! That I was going to be a good Mom.  

So - really, if I can invite her friends, and surround her with Love - from us and from Him, and we can speak that over her and into her, again and again and again...

"You're gonna be a great Mom!"

This... with or without clear eyesight...  yes, even if I am still battling this temporary lack of seeing... if we can do this, I will count it all Joy!

{STOP}

Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "JOY"  

What about you? What is your take on Baby Showers? Do you love them, hate them... what was your favorite game or piece of advice given at a Shower? I'd love to hear!

Living out Christmas... Giving Love, Hope, & (in)Mercy

So, I wrote about Phase #1 of the (in)Mercy House Project in September.  In that post I wrote this:

"There is an amazing Community online... I mean, take-your-breath-away, encouraging, uplifting, let's-bond-together-and-change-the-world kind of gathering of Awesomeness... they break up into smaller groups all over the blogosphere but as a whole, many of them can be found over at (in)courage.me and I assure you that once you visit - well, you are like family and there is just no need to knock! Oh no... when you are part of the family - you are invited to just come right on in!"

 So we invited ya'll in and oh my how you stepped up and came in and helped us to reach our goal!  We fully funded that van so fast! In fact, all of Phases 1-4 were funded ahead of schedule and this makes us all giddy with excitement!

Phase #5 is the biggest, the most audacious of goals... for we want to purchase a second home for our sisters in Kenya! Yes... we know! It is a God-sized dream, for sure! But our God? He loves it when we dream big and we are believing that as we partner together and enter in to this season of Giving by giving whatever we can, He will take our offering and bless it and multiply it and provide some Rooms for these pregnant Mama's... no more do we want to hear "There's no room in the Inn!"

photo by Bess Brownlee 

 I was tempted to just link to Ann's words here...
because, as always, they bless!

Then I wanted to just link to Kristen's words here...
because she shows us what all those Phases 'fully funded' truly look like.

But I decided that I really wanted to add my own words to this cause too... simply because He is stirring our hearts and meeting us in ways that are causing us to get a bigger vision. 

My little family of three... for way too long we believed the lie that our limited paycheck-to-paycheck budget was too small to really make a difference.  Sure - we tithe... we give to local ministries and missionary friends and global outreaches.  But somehow we had forgotten that even $5.o0 can change the world.  In our American Dream, we-can-have-it-all culture - if we can't go big... we just go home.

But not anymore! You all proved that to me! With $5 here and $25 there, we joined hearts and wallets and we sowed into the red dirt ground of Kenya and we changed the world for our sisters in Africa! We did it first in buying a Van... then on to building classrooms, purchasing a generator, and equipping a computer lab... but it hasn't all been isolated to the Mercy House... no - I have joined hands and hearts (and yes, wallets) for other things too... aid to the Philippines and to Syria... and that day when we all joined ranks and did Laundry together with Lisa Jo. 

God is showing us here at home that even if we can't give MUCH... He makes much of what we can give!  When we open our hearts and our hands and offer up what we can... He meets us right in the middle of our God-Sized Dreams and shows off just a little!  And He should... for He gets all the glory!

Join us in Being the Gift... in sowing a little (or a lot) this Christmas!  I don't know about you and your family, but each December, as a family we look for ways that we can be a blessing.  We look for ways that we can put our money where our mouth is and we purpose to Speak Life, to Be Love, and to Shine On...  We decided already to cut back on how much we spend on ourselves and our families... in order to live out Christmas all the way across the world! We want to bring a bit of Christmas to Kenya and to make more 'room' in the 'Inn' (InMercyHouse - that is!)




To Join with us in Phase #5, click HERE



P.S. Because today is officially Cyber Monday... I wanted to let you know that you can also purchase some gifts and be the gift at the same time! You can Shop MercyHouse here! (Today or any day!)

#BetheGift

In which we kick off the (in)Mercy House Project

There is an amazing Community online... I mean, take-your-breath-away, encouraging, uplifting, let's-bond-together-and-change-the-world kind of gathering of Awesomeness... they break up into smaller groups all over the blogosphere but as a whole, many of them can be found over at (in)courage.me and I assure you that once you visit - well, you are like family and there is just no need to knock! Oh no... when you are part of the family - you are invited to just come right on in!

I can tell you, since becoming one of the family (unofficially) - things have shifted in me!  I'm sure that reading some of my stacks of books this summer has kicked that up a notch too (books like Crazy Love, Love Does, and Awake) but when you find yourself in the midst of people who are not just talking about things - but are doing things... who don't just feel pulled toward a cause, but who know that even a simple sacrifice of $5 can add up quick and change the world around you?  You can't help but catch a vision and want to be included in making a difference!

Terrell and Kristen Welch felt a call to open the Mercy House after a trip with Compassion. Kristen saw the tragic reality of young girls, forced into a lifestyle, and then forced into backstreet abortions and God stirred her heart.  Mercy House was birthed and it is a safe house, a home for young mothers and their babies in Kenya, and it is funded almost completely by mama's here in America!  Moms who have stepped up... who saw a need and realized that they could make a world of difference!  As it reads on the project page over at PureCharity, "they followed a missionary call all without ever actually leaving home."  I love that! (You know why? Because I can DO that! ...and so can you!)

So last spring Stephanie Bryant, from incourage.me, helped to lead the way in raising funds to help build a playground for the Mercy House kids -and within 24 hours - it was fully funded, ya'll!

This was amazing... and this is a glimpse into the awesomeness of this community!

This Fall we are once again raising funds to come alongside our sisters in Kenya... young Mama's with precious Babies and real needs - that we can actually help meet!  We are inviting you to come along on the journey as we break up projects into five phases over four months... the final push just in time for Christmas!

Here's a sneak peak at the Phases:

Here at Abiding Love, Abounding Grace, I will be involved in Phase 1... and Phase 5.  Why did I pick the beginning and the end?  Phase 1 is purchasing a van for the Mercy House... it's a small way to make a big difference.  Phase 5 is bigger and will kick off in December, just in time for the holiday spirit of giving! I don't know about your family, but we love to reach out and bless a family in need... to really show what Christmas is all about, not just talk about it.  Phase 5 will give us a chance to do just that!  I will write more about that in December!

However... Phase 1 kicks off today... and I think buying a new van is something most of you can relate to! We have an Only - and still, we found ourselves for a long season, driving a van while carpooling and sports going and just all the running around that little's need.

The Mercy House currently has 12 teen mama's with 12 babies, 2 housemothers, a social worker, an accountant/assistant and director and that means that they need to make multiple trips to church and the doctor and everywhere in between.  Their current van seats 15.  The additional van we are hoping to help fund will seat 8.  This is doable and will make a huge difference!

I am not a saleswoman.  It's so not my thing! I rarely even host in-home sales parties... I just never want to make anyone feel pressured!  I understand when things are tight and there is just no 'extra' lying around.  I know how tight my budget is... we are a single income family that quite honestly lives paycheck to paycheck and yet... God stirs and draws and moves... and God provides.

Through both skin-of-our-teeth and more-than-enough seasons, we strongly believe in giving... we believe that you can't go wrong, when you are sowing into the Kingdom!

I am not 'selling' anything here - but I am asking for prayer, and I am offering a way to help be the gift... to help make a change!  Pray... and then if you feel so led, would you join in and sow in to this ministry that is making a very real and very lasting difference... it is changing the world for teen mama's and the next generation in Africa.

We can do this... one skipped Starbucks... one Drive Thru passed by... every little (or BIG) bit adds up and we can pitch in and we can Be the Gift...

Join me, won't you?

For more info and to donate towards Phase 1



 (purchasing a van),

 click HERE!









We are so excited to watch and see what the Lord will do through this project.
Join with us in prayer, and in purpose, in remembering to: